03-01-2004, 09:13 PM
KPWSerpiente Wrote:I don't understand the 1.5 liter reference.....the 3s-GTE in that MR2 is just under 2 liters. So wouldn't you have to compare it to a 2 liter Honda engine?
Quote:In motorsports Toyota loses big on the grand total vis a vis with Honda. 6 F1 championships to zero. 7 CART championships for Honda to 1 for Toyota.
How does Toyota lose big to Honda in Motorsports?
I certainly could care less about any of the competitions you mentioned.....but lets talk about F1.
Toyota debuted it's first F1 car in March of 2001
Honda made it's F1 debute in 1964 and has been competeting off and on, for 20 or so seasons.
Who would you expect to have more wins?
I started going through a million IDRC results pages where the Honda lost to a Toyota...but I think my point is made without all the examples I was generating.
-T
For drag racing I will concede that Toyota probably has built better platforms to that end because A. They build turbocharged engines and B. Toyota has made more RWD platforms. For the purposes of drag racing the Supra is an infinitely better platform than its Honda counterpart (the NSX). Still, Civics won several of the IDRC championships you talk about so its not exactly a wash. And just like you say you don't care about World Challenge GT/Touring Car, IMSA, Le Mans, CART, or JGTC, I can just as easily say I don't care about drag racing.
When talking about Formula 1 the fact that Toyota didn't show up to play is less significant than showing up and losing (and whining) like they did in CART but I used those points to illustrate that Honda can and does win at the highest level of motorsport competition. Can Toyota do the same? Probably. But I question their committment, attitude, and ethics. Gm fans could say 'Well if GM raced in F1...' but the fact is they don't and they will never be able to claim the glory of those that do, and those that do and win.
In the grand scheme of things one can say Toyota 'could've' done this and that but the fact is that they 'haven't' and until they 'do' Honda will hold more competitive prestige. If/when Toyota does win an F1 title, hopefully they will have done it without cheating. I suspect that the only reason they didn't get busted big time by the FIA over stealing designs from Ferrari is that the money Toyota brings to the table is too much for Emperor Bernie to give up.